<p>Hey everyone, I've applied to a number of highly ranked graduate programs (focusing on Cell Biology and Molecular Biology programs) and I was wondering if you guys could tell me my chances of getting into these top programs?</p>
<p>The schools I'm applying to are:
Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCSF, UCLA, UCSD, UW, Rockefeller, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Princeton.</p>
<p>Here are my stats
MS in Biology from UCSD soon (following my thesis defense): 4.00 GPA
BS in Biochem and Cell Bio from UCSD: 3.89 overall GPA, 3.93 major GPA
My general GRE test scores are: 670 verbal (95th percentile), 800 math (94th percentile), 5.5 analytical writing (90th percentile).
My subject test scores are pending and have been sent to all schools that require it. For those didn't require it I will contact them with my scores once I receive them and ask if I can still have ETS submit the scores to them (I didn't want to waste $ sending in scores that may not be reviewed because they will be reported after the official school deadlines, though most schools do seem to start reviewing apps in late dec./early jan.).
My research experience includes doing a senior honors thesis project for 1 year under a faculty member who received his PhD from Harvard as well as 2 years working towards my MS degree under a faculty member who was a predoctoral fellow at Stanford and completed their PhD work at Harvard. I also attended a national research conference earlier this year. I do not currently have any publications in time to list them on my applications but I am getting data together for a paper that will be submitted to a journal very soon (second author) and also expect to get 1 or 2 more first author papers before I leave my current lab (hopefully my PI mentioned this in the LoR).
My personal statement was tailored to each school (listing faculty I was interested in, the specific programs I wanted to do research under and how I fit into their programs).
My LoR writers all wrote very strong letters for me (as I was told). One of them was from my PI. All 3 have strong connections to the schools I'm applying to as 2 of them received their PhDs at Stanford and did their post-docs at Harvard, while another was a former faculty member of Columbia University.
My application also shows that I worked throughout college to financially support myself on top of school and research and also served as an officer for one year in a student-run organization with a strong emphasis on community service/diversity.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>